Stone Machine Electric

Stone Machine Electric started in the summer of 2009 with founding members Mark Kitchens and William (Dub) Irvin. Dub had asked Kitchens if he'd be interested in helping him start a band since the two had been in other bands together in previous years. Once the guitars were tuned and the drums set up, their journey had started. The duo started crafting their sound by working on cover of songs by Elder, Electric Wizard, and Thin Lizzy, while simultaneously working on their own heavy tunes. Stone Machine Electric's first show was with Wo Fat and Little Big Horn in Deep Ellum (Dallas, TX) in March of 2010. The band started playing two to three shows a month for the remainder of 2010 at various venues in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in order to develop their chemistry for the music they were working on. Stone Machine Electric released the live Demo/EP, "Awash in Feedback", at the end of 2010, as well as recording a single at Tin Can Records for the song "Walking Among the Blind". Awash was greatly received by the local community, and the Fort Worth Weekly's review noted the "sonic architecture" as a way to "see Conan praying to Crom right before a battle". The Fort Worth Weekly nominated the band in their annual music awards for Best Hardcore Band in 2011, for Best EP in 2012, and for Best Metal Band in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The "Awash" demo was also well received abroad by such blogs as The Obelisk, Chybucca Sounds, and Planet Fuzz. The band continued to play the scene in Dallas and Fort Worth in 2011 and into 2012. In the summer of 2012, Dub and Kitchens went into the studio at Crystal Clear Sound with Kent Stump (Wo Fat) behind the boards to record their first full length album. Their self-titled album was self-released at the beginning of 2013. Once again, this release was well received both locally and abroad by the Fort Worth Weekly, The Obelisk, Sludgelord, Paranoid Hitsophrenic, and others. Stone Machine Electric followed this up with a small tour through south Texas, and continued playing shows in the local scene. After years of looking for the right bassist, Stone Machine Electric decided to stop looking and focus on the music they could create as a two-piece band. This marked the start of incorporating other techniques and instruments to create the sound they wanted. On top of playing drums and providing vocals, Kitchens added the Theremin and other electronics to his setup. Along with this change, the band has also incorporated improvisation into their arsenal, providing a continuous set when they perform live by drifting from one song into the next. This has transformed the Stone Machine Electric sound from a heavy stoner/doom motif to more of a heavy psych arena. The band's latest outing, the Garage Tape,is out on cassette now. This release features over 40 minutes of a one-shot live recording improvised in the band's practice space as recorded by Erik Carson of Tin Can Records. Stone Machine Electric are hoping this is one people will want to lose their heads over this new release.